Vol. 9, Special Issue 10, Part J (2025)

Genetic divergence plays a crucial role in maize breeding programmes by identifying genetically diverse parental lines that can produce superior hybrids. The present study evaluated 42 maize genotypes including 39 inbred lines and 3 checks to estimate the magnitude of genetic variability using Mahalanobis D² statistics. The analysis revealed significant variation among genotypes for all yield and yield-related traits. Cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into thirteen distinct clusters with considerable inter and intra cluster divergence. Traits such as cob weight, 1000-kernel weight, plant height and kernel rows per cob contributed most substantially to the overall divergence. The presence of wide genetic distances between clusters indicates the potential for selecting highly divergent parents for hybridization which can lead to the development of heterotic crosses and superior hybrids. This study emphasizes the importance of genetic divergence analysis in maize improvement programmes. By identifying and utilizing genetically diverse inbreds, breeders can enhance selection efficiency broaden the genetic base of breeding material and accelerate the development of high yielding and stress resilient maize hybrids suited for diverse agro ecological conditions in India.